Cryptocurrencies have convinced Poles. There is a disturbing signal [WYWIAD]

Dr. Katarzyna Niewińska, University of Warsaw: In 2024, over 70 percent adult Poles declared that they knew what cryptocurrencies were. When I first saw this result, I was honestly surprised because it was a very high level of awareness. In 2025, this percentage increased to approximately 75%, with the increase being within the limits of statistical error, i.e. approximately 3 percentage points. I expected that due to the intense public debate around the regulation of crypto-assets and the implementation of the MiCA regulation (regulation on the crypto-assets market in the European Union – ed.) this increase would be greater, but in practice it turned out to be small.

The rest of the text below the video

Read also: Facts and myths around the Crypto-Assets Act. The deputy finance minister warns the president [WYWIAD]

Poles are eager to invest in cryptocurrencies

This does not change the fact that this is a very high percentage. Does this high awareness translate into real investing?

To a much lesser extent. The percentage of people who have ever invested, are currently investing or declare that they have been investors in the cryptocurrency market is 12%, also with a statistical error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. This is relatively a lot if we look at the entire society, but the conversion of 75 percent awareness up to 12 percent investors is not as high as some sources or expert comments sometimes suggest. In practice, we are talking about about 3 million people.

How does Poland compare to other countries when it comes to investing or awareness of cryptoassets?

When it comes to awareness itself, Poland ranks very high. In OECD research, published in 2025, on average approx. 41%. adults declared knowledge of cryptocurrencies, and even in the upper range it was approximately 49%. Compared to this, 75 percent in Poland the result is much higher.

For comparison, I also analyzed a large German study covering over 3,600 respondents. There, the declared awareness reached 83 percent, although it must be remembered that it was an online survey, which may affect its representativeness.

When it comes to investing, the European Central Bank estimated in 2024 that on average approximately 9% of people in the euro zone own cryptocurrencies. households. It should be remembered that a household usually consists of more than one person, but it can be conservatively said that Poland is rather above average.

Young men choose cryptocurrencies

Who invests in cryptocurrencies in Poland?

They are much more likely to be men and younger people. The age groups 18-25 and 25-34 constitute a total of approximately 25%. respondents who answered affirmatively to the question about investing. When it comes to gender, the differences are very clear: 18 percent men in a representative sample declared having cryptocurrencies, compared to only 6%. women. As much as 93 percent women answered that they did not have cryptocurrencies.

This fully confirms the results of international research – both the OECD, the European Central Bank, and research conducted in Germany. Around the world, cryptocurrencies mainly attract young men, although of course women and older people are also being tried.

Are there also differences in the choice of specific cryptocurrencies?

Yes, and they are very clear. Interest in Bitcoin increases with age, the older a person, the more often they choose Bitcoin. It can be said that Bitcoin is definitely more popular among “boomers”. However, Ethereum owners are definitely the youngest, and with age, the share of people investing in this cryptoasset systematically decreases. These relationships on the charts go in opposite directions.

Among young respondents declaring interest in cryptoassets, more than half indicate knowledge of memecoins, while in the group of people over 55 years of age this percentage is only 12%. The 2025 results showed interest in, among others, the so-called Trumpcoins, and previously Dogecoin associated with Elon Musk. The differences between younger and older respondents in this area were very large indeed.

Risk and cryptocurrencies

So young investors are simply more willing to take risks?

Yes, this phenomenon has been known for years. Younger people are less risk averse and more likely to invest their funds in riskier assets. This applies to both cryptocurrencies, investment funds and stocks. People closer to the end of their career are much less willing to take risks because a potential loss is more difficult for them to make up for.

But what was most surprising to me was something else. Regardless of the declared level of knowledge, respondents assessed the risk of cryptocurrencies as low compared to traditional financial instruments. And this applied to both people declaring high and low levels of knowledge. Knowledge did not differentiate the perception of investment risk.

What does this mean?

In my opinion, this may indicate that in Poland there is no effective communication to investors about risk, both classic financial risk related to price volatility, technological and operational risk.

We see the “bright side of the Moon”, but we do not see the dark side.

This is surprising because in the media there is a lot of talk about variable valuations of cryptoassets, but also topics of fraud, scams, and the use of cryptocurrencies for crime, and yet they are perceived as low-risk assets compared to traditional financial instruments.

Your research also shows a low level of actual knowledge about the market?

Yes. The percentage of people who declared that they could explain the difference between cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets was twenty-something percent. This is very few among people who declared interest in cryptocurrencies or tokens. Therefore, in the cross-sectional study, we deliberately used the concept of cryptocurrency and not crypto-assets, because the latter concept is much less understood, even though it appears in the public debate in the context of regulation.

Why do people decide to invest despite their low knowledge?

In qualitative research, we identified three investor identities. The first one is tech believers — a person who deeply believes in technology and its adoption. The second one is skeptical insider — a skeptical but well-educated investor who understands the risks and issues of information asymmetry and consciously accepts them. The third one is opportunistic trader — a person driven by FOMO (fear of missing out, fear of falling out of circulation — ed.)wanting to “stay on topic”, often investing small amounts of money in order to learn and participate in conversations in their social group.

The social factor is also strong, we called it collective investing, because it is easier for them to make decisions when they do it because friends, colleagues from work or relatives in the family invest. This is a mechanism known from other markets.

Regulations for cryptoassets

What role do regulations play in all this?

In my opinion, protecting the financial system makes sense. History shows that the biggest financial crises, including the global crisis of 2008, were most severe in the United States, where regulations were weaker. Europe emerged from this crisis more gently thanks to regulations.

Of course, regulations must be sensible, reviewed, updated and adapted to a changing world. But the stability of the system is part of the mission of institutions such as the Office of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority or the Ministry of Finance. They should take care of security, especially when we are talking about an individual investor.

What is the biggest threat to investors today?

Sources of knowledge. It's about quality and, again, investor safety. There are podcasts, profiles on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X and many other platforms where sometimes in a dozen or several dozen seconds someone “advises” what to invest in, without responsibility and without a license. If it applied to the traditional market, it would be penalized. In the case of cryptocurrencies, we still have a regulatory gap.

What is the main conclusion of your research?

We need better education, but not vague education. Education about investment risk as such: about volatility, possible losses, differences between shares, bonds, deposits and cryptocurrencies. Not to discourage anyone, but to ensure that decisions are made consciously. Because interest in investing, also in cryptocurrencies, will grow.

The interview was conducted during the Polish Financial Supervision Authority's research seminar “Who invests in cryptoassets?”

Author: Bartek Godusławski, journalist of Business Insider Polska